Desensitized In A Long Way Gone

Now I am Become Death, The Destroyer of Worlds

Violence, witnessing, experiencing, or even causing it, can cause a person to become desensitized to it. The more violence a person experiences, the easier it becomes to handle. In his memoir A Long Way Gone, author Ishmael Beah draws parallels between witnessing violence and becoming desensitized to it. Graphic instances in Ishmael’s life such as witnessing his friends die causes him to become desensitized to violence, from just barely being able to kill enemy soldiers due to adrenaline, to thoughtlessly slaughtering anything in his path. When Ishmael first encounters government soldiers, he sees a horrific scene. While on a boat after being picked up by soldiers Ishmael’s “eyes caught